Property rights- Articles

Ontario converted millions of properties from registry to land titles. Sadly, the conversions led to a political interpretation of that rule. Ramsay is an outstanding example of the Ontario Court of Appeal's judicial interpretation.. This original 2014 article shows fully how the conversions affected rights of way.

CanLII Connects

Highest and best value assessment can be a threat to residential neighbourhoods across Canada. Provincially run review boards are on side with municipally run assessment companies. Homeowners fight 361% increase

In some cases these costs are adding up to between $20,000 and $30,000, or more. In some cases, buyers negotiate a cap on city development charges when they sign their purchase agreement.

CBC News

One test often applied in the statutory interpretation context is whether the tribunal chose one of several reasonable interpretations of a statute. It does not have to choose the interpretation that the court would have chosen; it is enough if it chooses one of several reasonable interpretations. But what if the tribunal chooses one reasonable interpretation one day, and another the next? an administrative tribunal does not have to follow its own decisions—it is not bound by the principles ofstare decisis. Further, where numerous reasonable interpretations of legislation exist, the tribunal may change its policy regarding the interpretation it will adopt. That is the case even where an appellate court has found one particular interpretation to be reasonable.

Bennett Jones Thought Network

Cash starved municipalities eye taxing the dead air above property. “As planners we used to joke amongst ourselves that while we encourage housing to be built in urban areas so people could be close to where they work, we were often forcing their jobs away, At what point do we say ‘it’s not in the public interest to lose more of these?’ ”

What was going on in Courtroom 36? Do cash strapped municipalities project a conflict of interest when opposing (on behalf of centretown residents) high-rise intensification that produces greater municipal tax revenue? If strict limits won't be binding why call them strict?

Ottawa Citizen

Mortgage fraud is a crime in which the intent is to materially misrepresent or omit information on a mortgage loan application to obtain a loan or to obtain a larger loan than would have not been obtained had the lender or borrower known the truth.

Globe & Mail

"There are millions of people insured in this country — and I would suspect that maybe a couple of hundred thousand understand this part of their policy," said Monica Woldring, an independent insurance broker in B.C.

C.B.C.

A condo unit will remain a viable real-estate ownership alternative for as long as its monthly maintenance fees and realty taxes remain below the monthly rental of a comparable unit in another condo complex or apartment building. Once the condo's maintenance fees and realty taxes exceed the cost of comparative rentals, there will be no demand to buy it. Such condos will be reduced to rental inventory as buying into heavy maintenance units would make no sense.

HuffPost Canada Media

The high cost of lawyers, combined with the erosion of legal aid and the proliferation of free legal resources on the Internet, has led to the justice system becoming what Julie Macfarlane, a law professor at the University of Windsor, describes as “a completely different universe.” Navigating the courts without a lawyer is a gruelling and daunting experience that has become all too common among Ontario’s growing masses of self-represented litigants.

The Toronto Star

A Yorkton, Sask., woman with dementia agreed to give her house to a grandson who promised to pay back-taxes and let her stay as long as she wanted, only to usher her out and install tenants instead, and when an elderly Ontario woman unexpectedly sold the antique truck for a fraction of what it was worth, her daughter’s suspicions were immediately raised. The court ruled that both transactions were invalid and ordered the property returned.

National Post

If there are substantial deviations, what can you do about it? Sounds like the makings of a lawsuit. Russell Gibson, a partner at Vincent Dagenais Gibson LLP, offers his perspective on the condo buyer’s legal due diligence.

Ottawa Citizen

In simple terms, one can rely on the Land Titles register only when one is dealing with the registered owner and not with an imposter. As for the government standing behind the system and guaranteeing good title, as the old song said, "It ain't necessarily so." What may be more shocking than the brazen conduct of the fraudsters is the damage done by the fraud and how the authorities react to it.

LawPro

"John Locke further argued that property rights were the natural extension of an individual's right to hold whatever they produced by their own initiative. The "fruits of the earth" belonged to those who were willing to use their labour to produce them". This 115 page paper (downloadable as a pdf file) explains the interconnection in Canada between Crown Patent land grants, its qualifications, and the limits to municipal government authority.

Ryerson University

In this property dispute “The fact that the judge was highly critical of the expert is not that unusual; what’s unusual is that they’re holding the lawyer accountable,” says Toronto personal injury lawyer Darcy Merkur of Thomson Rogers.

The Ministry of Natural Resources maintains the Crown’s property extends to the river’s highest point in the spring, but the Supreme Court of Canada decision in Walker v. Ontario (1975) suggests not.

Ottawa Citizen

Property rights: The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that the federal government failed in its obligations to the Métis people. The decision has not ordered any particular remedies, but it could potentially open the door to land-claim negotiations

CBC News

“This is land that was left from the subdivision,” El-Chantiry said. The homeowners along Bayview have routinely used it, but officially, the beach and a large piece of fallow woodland on the other side of the street all belongs to a numbered company,

Ottawa Citizen

The Town of South Bruce Peninsula will not be enforcing its dynamic beach bylaw on private property. In a news release issued Wednesday morning it was announced that the town had received two legal opinions - one in 2009 and another dated Monday - explaining that the bylaw, which establishes rules for the use of town-owned beach property, does not apply to private property unless permission is received from the private property owner

Sun Times, Owen Sound

The public’s perception of a judge’s impartiality must always be maintained for the administration of justice, even if there is no evidence of a bias or conflict of interest, according to a recent ruling by Ontario’s top court.

Police and governments need tools to fight crime and ensure the personal security of citizens. But if the tools are at the same time too blunt and too powerful, we’re all in trouble. Think about it.

Ottawa Citizen

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